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‘He ain’t Latino!’ John Leguizamo, Ana Navarro and Jeff Torres slam James Franco for playing Fidel Castro

Jeff Torres said, 'I’m auditioning for another generic Latin-American drug dealer and James Franco is dead ass playing Fidel Castro'

The casting of James Franco as Fidel Castro in 'Alina of Cuba' has sparked outrage on social media. The actor will play the Cuban revolutionary in the upcoming indie film about his daughter Alina Fernandez, it was announced on Thursday, August 6. Franco is of Jewish, Portuguese, and Swedish ancestry and was born in Palo Alto, California.

Actor John Leguizamo, an outspoken supporter of greater Latino representation in Hollywood, took to Instagram to slam Franco and Holywood in general. "How is this still going on? How is Hollywood excluding us but stealing our narratives as well? No more appropriation Hollywood and streamers! Boycott! This F’d up!", the actor wrote. Adding that it would be “seriously difficult” to represent Castro “without aggrandizement,” the 'Encanto' star said: “I don’t got a prob with Franco but he ain’t Latino!”

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Lead producer John Martinez O'Felan stated in the casting announcement that Franco had the "closest facial likeness" of "the entire ranks of actors with Latin roots in Hollywood." “To get there on such a tough look to cast, we used Fidel Castro’s ancient Galician heraldry as our focal compass, and then combed through the entire ranks of actors with Latin roots in Hollywood to find someone who has a similar facial structure,” he told Deadline.

“In executing a close search into our hopefuls through the eye of Spanish and Portuguese genealogy which the Galicians held, we found that James, by far, had the closest facial likeness of our Industry’s leading actors, meaning that the focus would be to build out his character accent and we’d have a stunning on-screen match to intrigue audiences and bring the story to life with true visual integrity", he said further.

'The View' co-host Ana Navarro-Cárdenas voiced Leguizamo's criticism. “I’d like to think no Latino actor worth their salt would sign up to play and aggrandize a murderous dictator who terrorized the people of Cuba for six decades,” she commented on his post. “For both reasons you articulated, I join you in the boycott.”

In a series of tweets, Jeff Torres, a Latino actor whose recent contributions include 'Night Sky' and 'S.W.A.T.', slammed the casting. "I’m auditioning for another generic Latin-American drug dealer and James Franco is dead ass playing Fidel Castro. Latinos gettin’ done dirty af out here and everywhere. Damn lol", he wrote on Twitter. “Imagine Jaime Francó’s (formerly James Franco) Cuban accent. Imagine him saying stuff in Spanish,” he continued. “This is the best @TheOnion article ever. Except it’s real.”

In another tweet, Cat Cardenas, a Latina writer and photographer, referred to Franco's return from a four-year acting pause following multiple sexual misconduct allegations in 2018 and 2019. “LMAO James Franco is making his big comeback by playing a Cuban dictator? While actual Latinx-led movies/TV shows get under-promoted and cancelled? You almost have to laugh!” she wrote.

Director Lucia Suarez Sang also slammed Franco, he wrote, "This feels like such a slap in the face to all the hard work of so many Latinx actors. And I know it’s nothing new and will continue to happen but it is just so frustrating". "But also… There are amazing Latino actors who would be a MUCH better fit than James Franco… pick one of them!", he added.

In another tweet, journalist Geraldo Rivera wrote, "James Franco is a terrific actor, but John is right. There are plenty of Latino men perfect for the role, (though Patty LuPone and Madonna were credible Evita’s). Also, love him or loath him, Castro is one of the most important players in Latin American history".